How to avoid bedbugs when traveling

Live bed bugs are displayed in a container during the first North American Bed Bug Summit, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, in Rosemont, Ill. The event's sponsor, BedBug Central, says the two-day summit will host 14 of the nation?s leading entomologist and bed bug specialists, along with a gathering of bed bug-industry related vendors. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Posted Oct. 07, 2010, at 10:57 a.m.

With the recent closure of the Sabattus Primary School because bedbugs were discovered in two classrooms and outbreaks of the creepy crawlers being found throughout the country, people are eager to learn how to prevent contact with the critters.

In this video recently created by University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Jim Dill explains how to look for bedbugs in hotel rooms and what to do if you find them.

The problem has gotten so bad that the Environmental Protection Agency warned last month against the indoor use of chemicals meant for the outside. The agency also warned of an increase in pest control companies and others making “unrealistic promises of effectiveness or low cost.”

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Bedbugs, infesting U.S. households on a scale unseen in more than a half-century, have become largely resistant to common pesticides. As a result, some homeowners and exterminators are turning to more hazardous chemicals that can harm the central nervous system, irritate the skin and eyes or even cause cancer.